Wes Anderson joins Noah Baumbach and Ben Stiller at movie premiere

Wes Anderson was present at the premiere of Noah Baumbach’s latest film “While we’re young“. According to Variety.com:

“While We’re Young” was introduced by A24’s David Fenkel, and the after-party was held at Lexington Brass. Wes Anderson, who stayed through the film’s end credits and took selfies with fans waiting outside, walked over with Vogue editor Grace Coddington. The “Moonrise Kingdom” director was later seen chatting in a dark corner of the party with another powerful New York filmmaker — Spike Jonze (who said he still hadn’t seen the “Girls” finale, on which he had a cameo as a music executive).

In the pictures we can also him reunited with Ben Stiller, who stars in Baumbach’s movie.

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The Academy Awards are coming

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The Academy Awards are tomorrow and, as you know, Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel has 9 nominations. Even when it’s not the movie that everyone expect to win (Birdman and Boyhood are the titles that sound mostly as the winners), remember that it won at the Writers Guild Awards and 5 BAFTAs (Make Up & Hair, Original Music, Original Screenplay, Costume Design and Production Design) which it could mean that the movie is going to have a good night, even if it doesn’t win in the main cathegory.

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Why he deserves to win? I think the main reason is that he has always been faithful to his style. Even when his movies have been as much loved as hated by people, he never changed. The Grand Budapest Hotel is a 100% Wes Anderson movie and the people couldn’t help fall inlove with it and that’s why, even when it is one of the earliest released of the nominated movies, it is one of the most nominated and celebrated.

Surprise after the jump!

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Working with Wes – An Insider’s Perspective

Quite simply put Wes Anderson is one of the most influential filmmakers of modern times, an auteur with enough raw imagination and vision to create unique tapestries of film. The price of uncompromising power over every detail to be executed immaculately? a reputation.

A recent article from The Daily Beast tells of how the cast of the upcoming The Grand Budapest Hotel felt working with the director on his latest feature, some of whom actors who have previously worked along side Anderson.

In the interview Willem Dafoe had this to say:

– “He’s so specific in what he sees and what he wants that you better give it to him, he’s tough.”

Jeff Goldblum adds:

– “I’ve gone to other movies and the director will go, ‘Oh maybe you are wearing this,’ and I’ll go ‘That’s a good idea but how about this? What if I have a hat or a thing?’ With him you don’t do that. You go: ‘What do I get to do in this?’ And he goes: ‘Here’s the thing, here’s the thing, here’s the thing.’ And you go, ok, so, that’s what you sign-up for too. And his ideas are so good. And his taste is so good that you go: ‘Oh, yes please.’”

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Long time supporter and key go-to actor Bill Murray also commented on Wes’ filmmaking habits on set of The Grand Budapest Hotel in an article for Collider.

Murray:

– There wasn’t a whole hell of a lot that we shot that was wrong, because I mean, if you read the script, it’s pretty spare, you know? It’s pretty clean. The storytelling—he spends a lot of time and he’s obviously very specific about how he wants things to look and sound. So there’s not a lot of overage. He’s got a lot of tricky camera moves, so you shoot a lot of goofy takes, where the camera isn’t absolutely perfect, so you do it again. So that’s the only time—that’s the overage. That’s the extra time, is he takes a lot of time to get it perfect.

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This isn’t the first time that actors working with Wes Anderson have expressed how meticulous and precious he is about everything from the script to the set dressing, every one of which having unquestionable faith in Anderson’s direction knowing that Wes knows exactly what he wants and what the result will be. As established as it is that Wes is a ‘hardass’ when it comes to directing, actors still jump at the chance to work with the masterful director, and audiences continue to relish their time spent in his worlds – The Grand Budapest Hotel opens March 7th. 

Wes Anderson’s Fresh Air Interview

Wes Anderson sat down with Terri Gross to discuss his inspiration of the movie, the casting process, visual design, and his own childhood.

The 38-minute interview is full of great details, like the revelation below:

ANDERSON: Well, I remember – you know, someone asked me in the past week, in Cannes – I don’t – I can’t even remember who it was that asked me this, a reporter. I wish I had noted him, because he asked me something that made me kind of realize what I had wanted to do. He asked if the movie was a memory of a fantasy.

And I thought – at first I wasn’t quite sure what that meant. Then I realized that that is sort of exactly what the movie is. It’s – I remember the emotion of feeling like I was falling in love at that age, 12 years old, and how powerful it was and sudden, and kind of inexplicable. And yet in this – you know, I – nothing happened in my case.
[…]
GROSS: Who did you fall in love with?

ANDERSON: Well, I – I don’t – I don’t know if I want to even say the name, because it’s a, you know, a real person who very likely won’t be listening to this, but maybe would be. You know, a girl two rows over and three seats up who was in my class for years, and I never really had much of a conversation with her.

Listen to (or read the transcript of) the interview at NPR.

Wes Moment No. 003

“Needle in the Hay”

Brought to you by the 2009 Wes Anderson Film Festival. Join us this Thursday at 9 p.m. ET to chat and watch The Royal Tenenbaums together.

Suggest the next Wes Moment! E-mail edwardappleby @ yankeeracers.org or tweet @rushmoreacademy!

Wes Moment No. 002

Bob Maplethorpe, potential get-away driver, go!

Brought to you by the 2009 Wes Anderson Film Festival.

Suggest the next Wes Moment! E-mail edwardappleby @ yankeeracers.org or tweet @rushmoreacademy!

Wes Moment No. 001

“You Are Forgiven.” From Rushmore.

Brought to you by the 2009 Wes Anderson Film Festival.

Suggest the next Wes Moment! E-mail edwardappleby @ yankeeracers.org or tweet @rushmoreacademy!